I was kicked out of Pick 'N Save for legally carrying a firearm: column

Don't demonize me because I carry a gun

Feb. 8, 2014

Dereck Simonsmeier of Schofield poses for a photo at his apartment. Simonsmeier said he believes his rights were violated when he was asked to leave a local grocery store because he was openly carrying a gun. / T'xer Zhon Kha/Daily Herald Media

Roundyís responds

Daily Herald Media received the following response from James Hyland, spokesman for Roundyís Inc., which owns Pick íN Save grocery stores:Roundyís abides by all laws. Our longstanding practice has been that if a store director receives a complaint or encounters a situation that he or she feels uncomfortable addressing directly with a customer, the store director is to defer to the expertise of the police to assess and handle the situation. If a customer chooses to enter one of our stones openly carrying a weapon, it is not without reason that certain of our customers, as well as certain of our employees, may feel uneasy. In this particular instance, a customer advised the manager on duty that he or she felt uncomfortable with a customer carrying a gun in the store. The manager felt comfortable addressing the situation with the customer, Dereck Simonsmeier, and politely asked him if he would cover it up. Simonsmeier replied that he did not have a jacket. The manager requested he leave the store and escorted him outside and waited with him until his friend finished shopping. Our loss prevention security/manager did speak with Simonsmeier and he seemed understanding of her explanation as to why we requested he leave the store.

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I am an American citizen, a college graduate, an Iraq War veteran, a brother, a friend, a role model and very soon I will be an uncle. For each of these people that I am, there is always one constant: I carry a firearm, concealed or open, legally, for the protection of myself, my family and my friends.

I do not carry it to be tough or to start a fight; I carry it because it is my right and to protect the ones I love. Yet even with the welfare of others in mind, I am scrutinized and mocked for exercising my Second Amendment right.

I have become the target of unnecessary heckling and badgering; I know of others who have had similar experiences. My experience in late January at the Pick íN Save grocery store in Weston is only the most recent example.

A friend and I had driven to Pick íN Save for grocery shopping. I did not anticipate being inside the grocery store for very long, so I had left my jacket at home. I was wearing black pants, a short-sleeved shirt, a winter cap and my Remington 1911 chambered in .45 ACP in plain view on my belt.

I have no idea how long my friend and I were in the store before we were approached by a person whom identified himself as a manager. He asked me if I had a permit for the firearm on my hip. I told him that Wisconsin has open carry and does not require a permit for a person to carry a loaded firearm on his or her body in plain view. I did my best to cite the statutes for open carry, and pointed out that Pick íN Save had not posted a sign banning firearms on their premises.

The manager asked me again if I had a permit for my weapon. I told him I had a permit to carry a concealed weapon. The manager demanded that I cover the weapon because people in the store were becoming ďuneasyĒ at the sight of me carrying it.

I respectfully told him that I was not breaking any laws and said that I could not cover my weapon. He then asked me to leave the store.

I asked him if he wanted to get law enforcement involved; he said that he would not have an issue if law enforcement showed up. I talked with my friend a little, asking her if she needed anything else from the store. She told me no, and I told her that Iíd wait for her outside.

I started to walk out through the exit nearest to the liquor department, and I noticed the manager following closely behind me. I put on my winter cap and waited outside in the below zero weather, while he sat outside with me. Upon exiting the building, I began to text and call people I knew, telling them that I felt my rights had been violated and asking them about my options.

My friend exited the store sometime later, and the manager walked back inside. She and I went to the car and went home. The cold had numbed my arms and severely restricted the movement of my hands and fingers. If I had needed to draw my weapon in the Pick íN Save parking lot, I would have been unsuccessful.

In hindsight, there are many things I believe I could have done differently. But I believe more strongly in the fact that the manager should have handled this event more delicately. The management of Pick íN Save should be knowledgeable about their companyís policies around firearms before they confront people who are legally carrying them. I believe management in every company should be knowledgeable about weapons policies for the company and weapons laws for the state.

And on a personal note, I believe I should not be demonized for carrying my personal firearm for personal protection. I have spent time overseas carrying firearms every day, but when I come home, itís as if Iím suddenly no longer qualified to use the very tools Iíve been using in a combat zone. That does not sit right at all. In fact, it has only made me more determined to familiarize myself with state laws and company policies, so that I will be prepared to confront those who would violate my Second Amendment rights.